Ithaca College

 The project was the brainchild of myself and Julian Larrea.  We have worked together for several years in the Achuar Territory, taking student groups to Tiinkias for a cultural immersion experience focused on sustainability.  As I was looking to teach a new course in technology for remote locations, Julian was looking at a failed water system in Tiinkias. 

The system design and initial construction had all been completed through funding obtained by Antonio Shakai, the parish president.  But the system never worked, and the pieces were left in disarray for a year.  No one in the community has enough experience in electrical, hydraulic, or mechanical engineering to troubleshoot it or fix it.  Nor do they have the equipment or desire.  We decide to partner and see if the students in my class can figure out how to fix the system based on information the community can provide.  We receive information piecemeal.  First, Ruben Shakai (Antonio’s brother and long term collaborator of Julian and mine) visits Tiinkias and sends us pictures of the pumps and panels.  Then, Julian visits and sends us GPS coordinates and elevations of the well, tanks, and community.  I quickly turn to the engineers I know for help. Scott Zimmerman becomes interested in this project and starts digging in deep with calculations on the capacity of each component of the system, generates an equipment list, recruits a donor for a replacement charge controller (Craig Eagleson) and a donor for the inverter and miscellaneous other equipment that is needed (Roger Dennis).  My department chips in to buy the tools we need, and the School of Humanities and Science and the Ithaca College Instructional Development Fund support my travel.  My daughter Julia volunteers to join our expedition as a celebration of finished her undergraduate degree at Hampshire College and as photographer. Read the full story (in pdf format) on the ENVS website.